TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Mar 16, 2004 8:27 am

Can anyone tell me how to wire an ammeter into my splitty? (1964 USA bus)

Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:38 pm

Mandeep, welcome to TheSamba! I assume you are talking a 6V generator for a ’64 bus. To get a regular ammeter to read correctly charging and discharging, it must be in series with the lead to the battery that feeds everything except the starter. In other words, not in the main battery cable because you don’t want to measure the current drain from the starter motor. On a bus you would have to remove the two 8 gauge wires from the battery cable on the starter solenoid and the ammeter would connect between those two 8 gauge wires and the battery cable still on the solenoid. You would have to run new 8 gauge wires all the way up front to the gauge and then back.

That is extremely inefficient for the charging system as all those trons have to go from the generator in the back, all the way up front to the ammeter, and then all the way back to the back of the bus before they find the battery. You could run 6 gauge wires to help make up for some of the inefficencies of the long wire runs.

OR --

For a bus I would recommend a shunt style ammeter where you would mount the shunt in the back near the starter and then run smaller wires up to the actual gauge. That would be much more efficient. Most of the current stays in the back, going through the shunt. Only the shunted current goes up front to activate the gauge. The actual gauge and length of wire run will determine what size wire you would run to the gauge. On a bus it would probably be no bigger than 16 gauge, and 18 gauge might be OK.

Here is a pdf file that shows the basic ideas. There are many shunt style ammeters available. http://www.tflx.com/PDF/98710.pdf
The shunt connects exactly like a regular ammeter would connect, it just allows you to run much smaller wires up front.

Why do you want to install an ammeter?

Wed Mar 17, 2004 12:37 pm

Thanks for the info and the welcome. Having thought some more I am going to fit a voltmeter as this is what is in a friends Bay. Basically I want to add another battery and check the charging etc and looking at his van the voltmeter does the trick and is simpler and safer to fit.

Regards to all you VW fans in the States. My split came from Calii and is in great shape, no rust anywhere unlike so many of our vans here. You also have some great sites for spares there.

VW scene healthy here and very friendly but rarely see splits on the road outside the show scene.

Regards

Mandeep